International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), established in 1983, is an inter-governmental knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Globalization and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues.
Universities and research centres play a key role in generating, sharing, and disseminating knowledge on climate change and providing evidence for effective climate change adaptation mechanism. They play a key role in filling in crucial knowledge gaps and infusing scientific content into public discourse that can help influence policy makers and public opinion. The Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) was founded in 2007 with a mandate to develop an effective, sustainable network of universities in the HKH, for collaboration with academic, research, and knowledge generating and exchange institutions both within and outside the HKH region for sustainable mountain development.
The HUC Academy is the consortium’s flagship annual intensive programme, and provides opportunities for young researchers to engage in cross-disciplinary scholarship. It aims to foster a new generation of transformational leaders committed to mountain research, capable of producing consequential knowledge, innovate policies, and environmentally responsible business practices to address HKH mountain challenges from transboundary perspectives. The four signature features of the HUC Academy are mountain focus, interdisciplinarity, field research, and leadership.
